Process of distilling volatile products



Feb. 23 '1926. 1,574,522

L. @RANGER ET AL PROCESS 0F DISTILLING VOLA'TILE PRODUCTS 1 FileaJan. 9. 1920 l 2 sheets-sheet 1 f Yi" Minimum; 1

37 @www-r Feb. 23 ,1926. 1,574,622

. L. GRANGl-:R ET A.

PROCESS 0F DISTILLING VOLATIL PRODUCTS n Filed aan. 9. 1920 v sheets-sheet a To TERM M0701? .STEAM pgn-PTH cu? l v K Co/vaflsff 80M i? Ffrn/gfnsmn Patented Feb. 23,y v1926.

y UNITED STATES "PATENT oFFjlcl-z.

Pnocnss or nrsrrLLINe voLx'rrLn rnonucrs.

Application med January s, 192e. serial 105350,35;

To all whom t may concern: v Be it known that.1we, Loms GRANGER, CHARLES MARILLER, and CHARLES PRACHE, manufacturers, citizens of .the Republic, the first two -residi third residing at 48 Avenue du Maine, Paris, France, have invented certain newvv and useful Improvements in Processes of Distilling Volatile Products, of whichthe follow-v ing is a specication.

Ihe distillation of mineral oils is effected most frequently in large boilers heated by a furnace, which boilers with' their condensers, constitute i continuously Working stills.

The apparatus proposed for ensuring continuous distillation has not produced profitable results in industrial operations. When the distillation is accelerated, that is when the greater portion, about 75% of the crude oil is evaporated, and there is but little residue, the heat regenerators employed can only yield a few calories and the cost of fuel is considerable. On the other hand, in continuously acting' apparatus the condensations e e commercial densities are considerable and involve 'a fresh expenditure of fuel.- The paratus 1nterexpense of continuously acting a equals and at times exceeds that. o

I linittently acting apparatus becauseof this.

. In all this apparatus there is a serious defect which is obviated by the-present invention. Whereas in known apparatus,

the calories of the fuel reappear in the vapors being condensed in the' condensers,

heating bodies of water that cannot be utilized, the process forming the object ofthe resent application enables the calories t0 e-recovered in the form of steam under ressure, steam which can -beutlized forl eating distilling or, otherapparatus, or

for wor ng steam motors.

It has also been suggested that the dis-V tilled vapors of higher boiling oi-nt be used as a heating agent to dist'` oi the productsgof lower point, but thisv has proved-#unsatisfactory for the reason that a uniform product of the firstA distillation is notf'obtained. This is rincipally due to variations" Iin the heating 1 n the second distilla'ationfl and consequent variation in the heatingl medium for the rst distillation, and "tofthe fact that the latent heat ofthe French v at- 38-40 Rue des Peupliers, Paris, an the cted for bringing the products to.

of example:

Figure 1 represents the application of the I' enters a decanter E which e the necessaryr distances without serious losses by 'con' ensation. Wehave' discovered that bycondensing the 011 vapors `in a condenser-boiler, in

which water is converted into steam-, the` condensation losses of. the'vapor are eliminated since steamlend s itself more readily to trans ortation and a reservoir of heating me ium of high latent heatl can be lmaintained between the first and second stills, whereby the irregularities of heating in the 'second distillation are smoothed out and nottransferred to the irs'tvdi'stillation. The novel rocess vcan be applied either to continuous y or intermittently acting apparatus and yit enablesthehstof fuel to be considerably reduced.

In principle, this process consists in introducing into the path of the petroleum. vapors to be condensed one or more .special condenser-boilers receiving water in a liquid st'ate. vThe' petroleum' vapor vis condensed and causes this watervto boil. The steam thus produced can be employed in variou ways, according to circumstances." In the drawings Aannexed hereto 'by way invention to a continuously. aotingapparatus for distillingcrude mineral oils; and

Figure 2 ,shows the application'` of the an intermittently acting fapinvention to paratus.v

In the continuously acting a paratus cessively treated in two groups of devices.

A .rst separator A which. takes out the. l gasoline;

A second separator B which extracts the lamp oils and the' heavy oils.` This latter pipe v 1 into a pre-heater D, generally con- .100',

stituted by a tubular pile, heated by the conl. 4densing gasoline vapors which comeffrom the separator A. The crude heated material leaves the preheater D. throlgh pipe 2 and tion ofthe water precipitated by the increase of temperature. This water is carried olf by a cock 3. The crude mineral oil then passes through the pi e 4 into another preeater or'regenerator in which it is heated 1 10 (Figure 1^), the crude mineral oi is sucects a separato a higher temperature by the boiling residues coming out of the boilers C, through pi e 5 and circulating in a coil or 1n a suitabib tubular device.

The crude y:petroleum then passes through the pipe 6 into the gasoline separator A, which is heated at the bottom by a' tubular device or coil G. In prior apparatus this tubular device was heated by the steam coming from special generators heated by separate heat sources but this is heated by steam from the condenser-boiler K. The gasoline vapors pass out at 7 into the condenser-preheater D, the condensed gasollne being conveyed through the pipe 8 to the special test tubes at H where it is collected. It is easy to effect a separation of the gasoline if desired, by providing concen` tration parts above the separator A.

The crude petroleum, deprived of its light products is carried off through the pipe 9 and passes into the heater I thence through pipe 10 into the separator B which distills out the light oils. The separator B, heated by the boiler C, distills off oils of varying boiling points through special pipes l1, 12 and 13. The heaviest lamp oils are taken off by the pipe 18 and enter the condenserpreheater I, being then conveyed through pipe 14 to the refrigerator' J and thence to the testtubes at H. The lighter lamp oil vapors are conveyed through the pipe 12 to a condenser-boiler K, preferably Vhaving inclined water-tubes, as shown, which partially condenses them. The condensed liquid is conveyed through the pipe 15 to the re- -frigerator J and thence to the test tubes at H. As regards the non-condensed vapors in the condenser-boiler, they return to the separator through the pipe 16.

A condenser-boiler L condenses est vapors which escape fromnthe top of the separator B through pipe 11. The condenser boilers K and L are supplied with water through pipe 21 by a pump P which takes the wat'er condensed in the heater G and drawn off through the pipe 21 and purging cock` Q.

'In order to utilize the temperature of the vapors to the maximum extent it is necessary to employ a condenser-boiler. For this purpose a condenser-boiler with rapid circulation will generally be employed, one with inclined tubes being indicated in the drawings only by Way of example.

The steam produced by the condenserboiler is conveyed through pipe 17 to a storage vessel M from which it can be conveyed through pipe 18 to steam motors and through pipe 19 to a steam compressor 'l which, if necessary, raises it to the required tem erature so that it can be utilized for the eating, ifits own temperature be not sufiicient.` By Way of example, the drawing indicates a possible utilization consisting in the li ght'-l conveying this steam through pipe 20 to a supplementary heater N placed on the light product separator A. The steam emitted through the evaporator K passes out through pipe 21 arid supplies heat to the heater G. 'lhe Water of condensation of this vapor is drawn off through pipe 21 andretaken as previously statedby the pump P in order to be put in circuit. again through pipe 21". In case of excessive evaporation thesteam escapes through a safety valve S and passing through pipe'22 reaches the steam cylindcr M. previously mentioned.

.'lhe effect of this combination is that'the heating of the light products separator A is effected without expense. On the other hand, a certain quantity of steam remains to be employed forv heating or for the production of motive power. The water of condensation is not renewed, the same water being continuously circulated. The apparatus as a whole is an automatic condenser and requires only a small quantity of condensing water. In the case of the invention being applied to an `intermittently acting apparatus all that is required is to introduce a condenser-boiler K into the ath of the vapors between the 'boiler C an the condenser J of each apparatus, as illustrated in Figure 2. All the condenser-boil-y ers are connected through pipes with the steam cylinder M which they su ply. As an example the pressure may be Il){ept at 6 atmospheres,v and the temperature of the vapor about 159. As the fall necessary for the working of the evaporator may be 4cC to 5, the condenser-boiler will act as soou as the vapors are at 163' to 165, that is practically as soon as the light products are eliminated. In the case of a medium American n'iineral oil, the evaporator Will act during nearly three-quarters of the duration of the operation.

The new process assures the following advantages: l

1.-The condenser for theA oil vapors is really a generatorl or an accumulator -of energy in the form ofheat from Whichsupplies are drawn according to the wants toy be satisfied.

2.The steam possesses considerable latent heat as ldistinguished from petroleum vapor. In consequence of this there is less loss by radiation in transporting to a distance.

JL-Steam may be used to operate compressors or be retaken by these apparatus, which in many cases permits valuable combinations.

4.-Irregularities of the furnace are no longer to be feared. A simple safety valve conveying the excess of vapor to a cylindrical device obviatesall dangerous eects of pressure and consequently of vaporization. lhe furnace no longer heated parts out of order.

putsl the indirectly 13o 5.--The owings or running of can be obtained at a great height and the refluxes are easily effected. The height of the apparatus is reduced.

6.-The process can be employed for the production of motive power and, if applied to either continuously or to intermittently acting a paratus, steam generators may be dispense with.

7.--The cost of water is almost entirely obviated. The condensers are not affected by scale. Consequently cleaning is dispensed with. y j

The process can be emplo ed for distlling not only h drocarbons suc as mineral oils but also or the distillation of products more volatile than water such as alcohol, benzols, ethers, etc. In this case the steam produced by the evaporators K and L is at a pressure lower than atmospheric. In order that it may be employed again it is necessary to compress it to raise its .pres-- sure. This compression is eected by the compressor T.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The method of distilling crude mineral oil consisting in vaporizing the oil, condensing the vapors in evaporators with rapid circulation of water to ensure operation with small temperature drop vaporizing water in said evaporators by a sorbing the latent heat of the condensed products to produce steam at a temperature only slightly less than the condensed va ors and at a high ressure and using sai steam in the heatlng ofsaid oil and for the production of" power.

In testlmony whereof we ailix our signatures.

LOUIS GRAN GER. CHARLES MARILLER. CHARLES PRACHE. 

